Tofu meatballs are a tasty, and nutritious alternative to meat-based meatballs, as they are packed with flavor and protein. You can make them with pantry staples in 3 easy steps.
For more vegetarian recipes, try our lentil meatballs, black bean burger, and lentil patties.
Our tofu meatballs are an excellent high-protein vegetarian meal for a weeknight dinner as they are easy to put together and cook in 20 minutes in the oven.
Like many of our other tofu recipes, such as baked tofu, air fryer tofu, pan-fried tofu, and BBQ tofu, these meatballs are satisfying and versatile.
Louise and I love serving them in a sub, with rice, or with spaghetti and homemade marinara sauce.
Our tofu meatballs are inspired by Italian home cooking, so you’ll be familiar with the ingredients and flavor of this dish.
As we’ve shown you in our other Italian-inspired recipes like our tofu cacciatore, tofu pasta, and tofu in pizzaiola sauce, tofu’s neutral taste works beautifully with Italian flavors.
Ingredients
Quantities are in the recipe box at the bottom of the page.
- Tofu: Use firm or extra-firm tofu. Avoid silken or soft tofu.
- Olives: Black or green, pitted. Adds savory depth.
- Walnuts: For healthy fats and flavor. Sub with almonds or cashews.
- Breadcrumbs: Italian-style preferred. Helps bind the mixture.
- Onion & Garlic: Use any type of onion and fresh garlic, or sub 1 tsp each of onion and garlic powder.
- Dried Oregano: Or substitute with thyme or Italian herb mix.
- Fresh Parsley: Adds freshness. Swap with basil or chives.
- Salt & Pepper: Use sea/kosher salt and black pepper. Optional red pepper flakes.
- Cornstarch: Helps bind. Sub with tapioca starch.
- Nutritional Yeast (optional): Adds cheesy flavor if available.
How to Make Tofu Meatballs
US cups + grams measurements in the recipe box at the bottom of the page.
Preheat the oven to 400°F or 200°C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Take the firm tofu from the package and squeeze it over a sink to remove excess moisture.
To a food processor, add the tofu, breadcrumbs, pitted olives, walnuts, chopped onion, garlic, dried oregano, fresh parsley, cornstarch, nutritional yeast, salt, and black pepper.
Blend until combined. Stop and scrape down the sides of the food processor once or twice.
Shape the tofu mixture into small balls of 0.7 ounces or 20 grams each by rolling them between the palms of your hands. You should be able to get 24 tofu meatballs.
Tip: We recommend using a scale to measure the first couple of meatballs and make sure they are the right size so they cook fast and get warm to the core.
Tip: If the mixture sticks, grease your hands with a few drops of olive oil. If you don’t want to get your hands dirty, you can shape the meatballs with two spoons, but they won’t get as round.
Arrange the meatballs on your prepared baking tray. Bake at 400°F or 200°C for 20 minutes.
Tip: For extra flavor, brush the meatballs with olive oil before baking them.
This is what they should look like after baking for 20 minutes. They are soft but stay together well and don’t fall apart.
Serving Suggestions
These tofu meatballs are delicious with a store-bought or homemade marinara sauce or other Italian tomato-based sauce.
Stir them in and simmer for 5 minutes, then add fresh parsley or basil and serve them with warm bread, rosemary focaccia, in a sandwich, with pasta or rice.
Variations
- Pan-fried tofu meatballs: Warm up 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet, then add the meatballs. Fry gently for 12 to 15 minutes, turning them around often to get cooked on all sides.
- Air–fryer: Arrange the meatballs in your air fryer without overlapping and air fry at 350°F or 180°C for 10 minutes.
Storage & Make Ahead
Make ahead: Tofu meatballs are an excellent recipe for meal prep as they keep well for days in the fridge.
Refrigerator: Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Freezer: You can freeze the meatballs for up to 3 months. Let them cool down completely and freeze in a freezer-friendly container without the sauce.
Thaw & Reheat: Defrost in the refrigerator overnight. Warm them in the microwave for 1 minute or in a saucepan with sauce for 5 minutes. Frozen and thawed vegan balls can fall apart as you reheat them.
Questions
Pan-fried meatballs are softer and juicier but a little less healthy as they are cooked in oil.
Oven-baked ones are a little dryer but healthier and still delicious.
However, if you put them in marinara sauce, it’s very hard to tell which ones are fried and which are oven-baked.
Yes. Use gluten-free breadcrumbs. Also, serve them with gluten-free pasta or gluten-free bread.
Yes, absolutely. Just leave the breadcrumbs out or substitute rolled oats for breadcrumbs.
The meatballs will still be delicious, although a little denser. The tofu flavor will be more recognizable.
More Tofu Recipes
If you tried these tofu meatballs or any other recipe on our blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let us know how it goes in the comments. We love hearing from you!
Tofu Meatballs
Video
Equipment
- Food processor
Ingredients
- 8 ounces firm tofu or extra-firm.
- ½ cup breadcrumbs
- ⅓ cup pitted olives black or green.
- ⅓ cup walnuts
- ½ onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 handful fresh parsley
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 2 twists black pepper
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch optional, to help binding.
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast optional, for flavor.
Serve well with
- 12 ounces spaghetti cooked in salted boiling water.
- our homemade marinara sauce or a store-bought one.
Instructions
- Heat oven to 400°F or 200°C. Line a baking tray with parchment paper.Squeeze 8 ounces firm tofu over your sink to remove excess moisture.To a food processor, add tofu, ½ cup breadcrumbs, ⅓ cup pitted olives, ⅓ cup walnuts, ½ onion, 2 cloves garlic, 1 teaspoon dried oregano, 1 handful fresh parsley, ¾ teaspoon salt, 2 twists black pepper, 1 tablespoon cornstarch, and 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast.Blend until combined. Stop and scrape down the sides of the food processor once or twice.
- Shape the tofu mixture into small balls of 0.7 ounces or 20 grams each by rolling them between the palms of your hands. You should be able to get 24 tofu meatballs.Tip: We recommend using a scale to measure the first couple of meatballs and make sure they are the right size so they cook fast and get warm to the core.
- Arrange the meatballs on your prepared baking tray.Tip: If the mixture sticks, grease your hands with a few drops of olive oil.Bake at 400°F or 200°C for 20-25 minutes or until browned on top and bottom.
- Heat our homemade marinara sauce or a store-bought one in a large skillet. Add the meatballs and simmer for 5 minutes.Serve with 12 ounces spaghetti, focaccia bread, or in a sub sandwich.
Notes
- Tofu – No substitute recommended; avoid silken or soft tofu.
- Walnuts – Replace with almonds or cashews.
- Olives – Use either black or green, pitted.
- Breadcrumbs – Any breadcrumbs work, but Italian-style is preferred.
- Onion & Garlic – Substitute with 1 tsp each of onion powder and garlic powder.
- Dried Oregano – Replace with dried thyme or Italian herb mix.
- Fresh Parsley – Swap with fresh basil or chives.
- Cornstarch – Use tapioca starch instead.
- Nutritional Yeast – Optional; omit or include if available.
Nutrition
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Hi! We are Nico & Louise
We're here to share easy, healthy, and delicious recipes 🌿✨.
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These were absolutely fantastic! Easy and quick to make. Just throw everything into a mixer and BAM. Done. After it was baked, it had the appearance and texture of meatballs and even tasted like meatballs. I served a triple batch of this with spaghetti to a large crowd, and it was a hit, despite the folks knowing that it was tofu meatballs. Admittedly, it was too moist to form into balls after being mixed. But all I did was add more breadcrumbs until it would form a ball. Problem solved. Thank you so much Nico and Louise!
Wow that’s wonderful, Lisa! I’m very happy that everyone enjoyed them 🎉
I’m very impressed by the amount of meatballs and SPAGHETTI you cooked for our guests. Well done! 💪
Thanks so much for taking the time to write a comment and leaving a review here.
All the best, Louise
Made them and even my carnivorous husband liked them! Recipe is super easy, I cooked the tofu balls in the air fryer. I added a pinch of Worcestershire sauce and Siracha (that wasn’t on the original recipe). Thank you for sharing this!
Hi Virginia,
Wonderful news, I smiled as I read about your husband 🙂 I’m very happy you were able to share this as a family. Thank you for your comment 🎉
These were great! I served them on pasta with marinara sauce and my husband and I both enjoyed it. My toddlers ate the meatballs plain.
I made a few amendments: I accidentally used a 14oz block of tofu because I wasn’t paying attention. I ended up getting a lot more meatballs out of this recipe but the flavor was still very good. We don’t usually eat olives, but I happened to have some green olives in the pantry so I used those and we were pleasantly surprised. The olives really did add great flavor and I’m glad I used them. I didn’t use nutritional yeast.
I made mini meatballs and baked for 25-30 minutes. The insides were super soft and the outsides were crispy. I put them in a Tupperware and the residual steam made them soft again which was just fine for us since I like them softer for the kids. I added them to marinara sauce and served. We’ll definitely be making them again! I’d like to try it falafal style with tzatziki sauce next time.
Yes, they were soft and maybe you can call them mushy, but not in a bad way. They were soft and moist. Mine were probably extra moist because I used more tofu than the recipe called for, but I just baked them until the outsides were crispy and all was well.
To the haters out there: These aren’t supposed to taste like meat. These are tofu meatballs! And they taste great! Open up your minds, broaden your palate, and try more plant-based foods.
Thank you, Nico and Louise, for this new and tasty recipe!
Leanna, that is wonderful – I’m so happy you and your family enjoyed these tofu meatballs!!
Great tips on storage and omitting ingredients, your suggestions are very helpful 🎉
Thank you for your kind support and the motivational words. We are very grateful to have you here as a reader and fellow home-cook ❤️
All the best, Nico & Louise
Was craving meatballs and had some tofu I needed to use…these more than met the craving! Cannot wait to make them again, reheat great and my husband also enjoyed them!
I had to leave out the olives as my husband is on a restricted sodium diet and I had to use pecans instead of the walnuts because I had no walnuts in the house, but was surprised how great they tasted. Just learning to make things with tofu as we have to have two meatless days per week.
I’ve made these meatballs several times for my daughter who is vegetarian. First time I made them they were great but became to mushy in the sauce and I didn’t care for the texture. Second time making them I made them with pumpkin tofu and the taste was good but not like with regular tofu. I made them a few more times then yesterday I made them with a food processor and used my hand like you would with ground beef and found that was the key to make these meatballs exceptional. I did chop the walnuts and olives before adding them and I sauteed the onions and garlic as well. What a huge difference in flavor and texture. This recipe is definitely a keeper.
Update on these terrific meatballs… I used super firm tofu which has a sturdy texture and doesn’t have to much moisture. I broke it up by hand instead of putting it in the food processor acts more like ground beef this way. I never skip the olives kalamata are best for that umami flavor. I put all the ingredients in a food processor minus the tofu then sauted them for a few minutes added it to the tofu once it was cooled down. Mixed it well made the meatballs and let it sit in the fridge for 30 min and they were exceptional.
Kristen, this is such a helpful update, thank you for that.
Love the tip about breaking up the tofu by hand and letting the mixture rest, great for texture. So glad you enjoyed them 🙂 All the best,
Louise
The recipe is amazing, I’ve been vegan for 4 years and it’s the first time I’ve enjoyed meatballs so much. thank you very much for your recipe.
Andrina, so happy you enjoyed them. Thank you for taking the time to leave your feedback here ❤️
Kindest, Louise
What is the sodium amount for the meatballs?
Hi Pat, it depends on the type of salt, tofu, and canned tomatoes you use.
It’s impossible for us to calculate accurately so we prefer not to write that in the recipe.
I hope this helps 🙂
Nico
They taste like the turkey meatball I used to enjoy before switching to plant based diet. I modified by using chickpea flour and Chia egg. I didn’t use walnuts out of fear the mixture will break apart. Thank you for sharing!
That’s fantastic news, Joan – I’m really happy you enjoyed these!
Thank you for sharing your ingredient substitutions and for taking the time to leave a comment here 🙂
All the best,
Louise
I mean no disrespect just being honest. I am used to GOOD food. This is OK at very best. Not that tasty & same comment as others in that these were mushy, even after cooking an additional 10 minutes. They are pretty bland and I wouldn’t make them again. Taste C, texture C-. I’m going to continue searching. I do appreciate your efforts though! This veggie thing isn’t as easy as I had hoped it would be.